First published in 1992, this book became a best-seller both in English and in several other languages. You’ve likely heard of this book because everyone has heard of this book. The author explains how we all give and accept love differently and it is worth the time and effort to learn your partner’s “love language” if you want them to feel loved.
The 5 Love Languages
My Thoughts
I really enjoyed the book and put it to instant use. My sweet wife knew something was up as soon as I started but she seemed happy regardless.
Recommendation
Everyone who is in a long term relationship should read this book!
Published in October of 2019. “A Minute to Midnight” is book 2 of the Atlee Pine series written by David Baldacci that follows Atlee Pine as she investigates a gruesome crime in her hometown of Andersonville, Georgia. Atlee’s twin sister was abducted from Andersonville over 30 years ago, and the investigation into her disappearance was mishandled by the local police. Now, Atlee returns to the town to confront her demons and find out the truth about her sister’s disappearance. As she delves deeper into the investigation, she discovers that the crime she is investigating is just the tip of the iceberg and that her own life may be in danger.
A Minute to Midnight
My Thoughts
While I enjoyed David Baldacci’s other characters, I don’t really like Atlee Pine. She is all about herself. Rude, whiney, and self-centered, yet somehow everyone loves her. The only possible reason is she is tall and pretty. Not the best role model.
Published in 2019, John Grisham tells this story about a young lawyer killed at his desk in Florida. There is no likely killer but the public looks to a young black man.
The Guardians
My Thoughts
I’m writing this 2 years after the fact and I remember it being well written and a gripping story.
Recommendation
They are making a movie now so you should read it before seeing the movie.
This is the last book in the Maze Runner series (chronologically) published in 2011. There are two books which were written after which became prequels to the series.
This book picks up right after the last and the reader learns the final fate of Thomas and his friends along with WICKED.
The Death Cure
My Thoughts
First off -Spoiler Alert- he killed off my favorite character. Newt shouldn’t have died. I’m not happy about that…
The book is overly harsh. It was entertaining but overly harsh. It was a rough read.
Recommendation
Honestly, if you need closure, I can understand why you would want to read it. However, I don’t know it gave me much closure, and they left it wide open for the next book. I can’t really recommend it.
Published in 2014, “Sapiens” is written by historian Yuval Noah Harari that offers a sweeping overview of the history of humankind. Harari traces the evolution of our species from the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa to the present day, exploring how we became the dominant species on the planet, how our ability to create myths and shared beliefs allowed us to build complex societies and cooperate on a massive scale, and how our technological advancements have fundamentally altered the course of human history. The book challenges readers to think deeply about what it means to be human and offers insights into the ways in which our species has both succeeded and failed in the pursuit of happiness, meaning, and progress.
Sapiens
My Thoughts
What I enjoyed most about the book was that the author would present different sides of each point. For example, he started talking about the utopian concept of the prehistoric hunter gather life being better and fuller than life today. When he started down that path I remember thinking, “here we go”. However, he then balanced the comments with the perspectives of utilitarianism, stoicism, and the concepts of suffering as the Buddhists understand it.
I found some of it to be over generalized but I felt it was a good overview of the main topic.
Recommendation
This work would be a good primer for sociology or psychology classes.
Published in 2013, W is for Wasted is the 23rd book of the Kinsey Millhone series. Kinsey’s name shows up on a piece of paper found in the hand of a homeless man found dead on the beach. Was he looking for a private investigator or was he her long lost cousin who was accidentally killed by a rouge experiment and left hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kinsey because he was ticked off at his kids? You’ll have to read to decide…
W is for Wasted
My thoughts
It took me a while to get into this one. I actually read the next book “X” before this one so I knew how a couple of things turned out but it was still enjoyable.
Published in 2010, The Scorch Trials is the sequel to The Maze Runner. This book picks up right where the last left off taking Tomas and the other “Gladers” into their next series of events. They quickly learn they are not out of peril yet…
The Scorch Trials
My Thoughts
Good book all and all. It was a pleasure to read a novel again after doing a lot of more technical material.
This book was very similar to the first in that it does a good job of getting into the mind of a teenager who is trying to cope with a world that doesn’t make sense. However, it has some of the downfalls as the first book as well. The kids get over the death of their friends remarkably quickly. This is somewhat explained by their involvement and being “chosen” to participate in the trials. However, it felt pretty unrealistic.
Recommendation
It was worth the time. I didn’t get bored and was interested throughout the book.
Published in 1983, Vietnam A History is a comprehensive history of Vietnam of the events leading up and through the war through the eyes of a WWII vet turned correspondent for several news outlets:
Paris correspondent for Time magazine.
Asian correspondent for Time-Life from 1959 to 1962,
The London Observer from 1961 to 1965,
The Saturday Evening Post from 1963 to 1965
The Washington Post from 1965 to 1971.
Diplomatic correspondent for The Washington Post in 1971 and 1972
Special correspondent for NBC and an associate editor of The New Republic from 1973 to 1975.
Columnist for King Features from 1975 to 1988
French newsweekly Le Point from 1976 to 1983 and for Newsweek International from 1977 to 1981.
Vietnam a History
My Thoughts
This book was a slog to get through. I found the writing to be plain and dry and the subject matter to be depressing and demoralizing. It seems like a good way to sum up the war in Vietnam.
I don’t know that I would have continued were it not good for my professional life to have more depth and understanding of the war.
I learned a great deal but feel I have to take a grain of salt with the content. I have respect for the author but it some of his comments made me feel like he was looking through a particular ideology. I intend to pick up another history to compare and contrast.
X” is the twenty-fourth novel in the “Alphabet” series of mystery novels by Sue Grafton. It features Kinsey Millhone, a private detective based in the fictional “Santa Teresa” California. The story takes place in the late 1980s and starts by Kinsey being hired for a simple job. One thing after another happen and soon she is hot on the heels of a rapidly expanding mystery.
X
My Thoughts
This book had a subplot going about Kinsey’s next door neighbors who weren’t so neighborly. Yet again Sue Grafton reminds us to keep our eyes out for folks who don’t have our best interests at heart.
I enjoyed the book though. It brought to mind a number of things about living out in the West. For example, it talked about water conservation which I hadn’t had to deal with for some time now that I live on the East coast. I was talking to my wife about it and it’s hard to understand if you haven’t lived it.
Published in 2019, Digital Minimalism is a call to remember what life is about and is an attempt to help people live their lives with more intention.
Digital Minimalism
My Thoughts
Really, I think a lot of his ideas were pretty good and a lot was overblown. I arranged around my apps on my phone so I wouldn’t be as tempted to grab it and look all the time. I also got rid of my games. Surprisingly, I found myself looking for them a couple of times already…
Still, the goal is a good one. How to live our lives with some idea of what we are trying to accomplish is a good thing. Folks not just wasting time is a good thing too. However, I enjoy the distractions as well.
Recommendation
A good book, particularly if you are trying to justify not giving your teen a smart phone.
